Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen slapped with class-action lawsuit claiming interns at their billion-dollar company were forced to work 50-hour weeks without pay or college credits

• Lawsuit filed by 40 current and former interns at Olsens' Dualstar Entertainment Group 
• Lead plaintiff in the case in Shahista Lalani, who worked as a design intern for five months in 2012 as part of the Olsens’ fashion label, The Row 
• Lalani claims she landed in the hospital with dehydration after working 50-hour weeks 
• According to Lalani, she witnessed fellow unpaid interns cry while performing menial tasks like going on coffee runs 
• The Canadian native never worked directly for the Olsens
• Dualstar Entertainment Group is a billion-dollar company churning out videos, books, hair care products, cosmetics and clothing
• A company spokesperson vehemently denied allegations to Daily Mail   
• The Olsen twins' combined personal net worth is estimated at $300million 

By Snejana Farberov For Dailymail.com

Published: 07:48 EST, 11 August 2015 | Updated: 15:57 EST, 11 August 2015

Former child stars-turned-entertainment moguls Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen have found themselves on the receiving end of a class-action lawsuit filed by dozens of their unpaid interns claiming wage theft.

The 29-year-old twins, best known for their shared role as Michelle Tanner on the beloved 80s sitcom Full House, have built a billion-dollar empire under the brand name Dualstar Entertainment Group, churning out videos, books, hair care products, cosmetics and clothing.

But according to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the Olsens, whose combined personal net worth is estimated at $300million, have been reluctant to share some of them profits with their interns.

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Sued: Former design intern Shahista Lalani (left) claims in a class-action lawsuit filed against Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen that interns at their company, Dualstar Entertainment Group, had to work long hours without pay or academic credits 

Court papers allege that Dualstar has failed to pay about 40 past and present interns working long hours performing menial tasks.

Dualstar has since denied the allegations to Daily Mail, calling them 'groundless.'  

The lead plaintiff in the case in Shahista Lalani, who worked as a design intern for five months in 2012 as part of the Olsens’ fashion label, The Row.

In court documents obtained by Page Six, Lalani is quoted as saying that her supervisor, The Row's head technical designer, was 'very demanding.'

‘I was doing the work of three interns. I was talking to her all day, all night,’ Ms Lalani states in the lawsuit.

Lalani claims that at one point, she landed in the hospital with dehydration after working 50-hour weeks.

‘It was like 100 degrees outside. I’d just be sweating to death. I probably carried like 50 pounds worth of trench coats,’ she alleges.

Designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen stun at 2014 Met Gala

Worked to the bone: Lalani claims that at one point, she ended up in the hospital with dehydration after working 50-hour weeks

Lalani is a native of Canada who graduated from the Parsons School of Design in 2013. She noted in the filings that she never worked directly for the Olsen sisters

Her other responsibilities at the company included inputting data into spreadsheets, running personal errands for her paid co-workers, sewing and cutting patterns, among other tasks.

During down time at work, the interns were required to clean and organize buttons by color without getting even a 15-minute break, the class-action suit alleges.

'You're like an employee, except with not getting paid,' Lalani writes.

According to Lalani, she had witnessed fellow interns cry while performing menial tasks like going on coffee runs and making photocopies for their supervisors, some of whom she described as 'kind of mean.'

The main charge in the suit is that unpaid interns were performing the same tasks as paid employees, and that they were wrongly classified as exempt from minimum wage requirements.

Dualstar's interns were also denied college credits for their work, the court paper claim.

Lalani is a native of Canada who graduated from the Parsons School of Design in Manhattan in 2013. She noted in the filings that she never worked directly for the Olsen sisters.

On her personal website, Lalani writes: ‘Interning with Zac Posen as well as The Row greatly impacted her knowledge about the local garment district and ethical manufacturing processes as well as mastering care and quality in design.’

Mary-Kate and Ashley star on Full House in the 80s and 90s

Child stars: The 29-year-old twins are best known for their shared role as Michelle Tanner on the beloved 80s sitcom Full House

The Olsens launched Dualstar Entertainment Group in 1993, when the sisters were just 6 years old. In 2007, Forbes ranked the former child stars as the 11th richest women in entertainment.

In a statement to Daily Mail Online Tuesday afternoon, a public relations firm representing Dualstar said the company 'is committed to treating all individuals fairly and in accordance with all applicable laws.'   

Dualstar spokeswoman Julia Kelley went on to dimiss the allegations outlined in the lawsuit as 'groundess' and said Dualstar will 'vigorously defend itself' against the claims in court.

'Dualstar is confident that once the true facts of this case are revealed, the lawsuit will be dismissed in its entirety,' the statement concluded.

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